Śrīla Prabhupāda established this society and named it the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He took the cue from Śrīla Rupa Goswami’s phrase “Krishna-bhāvanāmṛta.”

Śrīla Rūpa Goswami speaks about having feelings for Krishna. The ultimate goal of all devotees in the Krishna consciousness movement is to develop love for Krishna.

Prabhupāda was once asked, “What will please you the most?” And Śrīla Prabhupāda replied, “If you just love Krishna, I will be very much pleased.”

As the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and as followers of Śrīla Prabhupāda, our goal is to develop love for Krishna.

Currently, in our conditioned state, when love for Krishna has not yet manifest, Krishna remains a mystery for us. We may take darshans of beautiful deities in temples across the world. We may even tell others we’re having great experiences in Krishna consciousness.

But what does Krishna mean to us at our current stage?

1. Krishna as Mere Letters

Many a times, we are chanting the holy names, but we are not remembering Krishna. Rather, we are just uttering letters.

Even after chanting many rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahāmantra, Krishna may still not become a manifest reality in our lives. He remains in the form of mere letters.

As is said,
asādhu-saṅge bhāī, kṛṣṇa-nāma nāhi haya
nāmākṣara bahirāya baṭe, tabu nāma kabhu naya
“’My dear brothers, a person cannot purely chant kṛṣṇa-nāma in the company of non-devotees. The sound and the syllables may be uttered, but that is not real chanting.

2. Krishna as a Concept

When we are new in Krishna consciousness, we hear many things about Krishna. From all that, we build concepts or ideas based on our own understandings.

At this stage, Krishna becomes a concept — something we may use for preaching, or for justifying our own behavior, sometimes for our sense gratification or even for decorating our egos.

Sometimes, devotees use Krishna for justifying their sense gratification – going to cinemas, to restaurants, watching television, to other places – telling how it is useful for them – to know about current affairs, to make new recipes for Krishna after tasting them, and so on.

There are people who want to take initiation just so they can have a good business or be well known in devotee circles. For such individuals, Krishna remains just a concept.

For Krtadyuti, the wife of Citraketu, Krishna was only a concept. When her son died, she blamed providence, calling him ill names. TIll the time providence was on her side, she was a theist. But, when untoward things happened, she changed her conception!

Unlike Krtadyuti, Kunti had innumerable reversals in her life. But for her, Krishna was not merely a concept. Krishna was a person. And through the calamities, she saw Krishna.

3. Krishna as a Controller

As we progress, we may begin to see Krishna as a controller, someone who is overseeing all our actions from above. He is the one awarding us the fruits of our efforts through material nature, people, or circumstances.

To say Krishna is a controller is not wrong. He indeed controls the entire world. But our understanding must not stop there.

4. Krishna as a Tattva

After being in the Krishna consciousness movement for a few years, Krishna may appear to us as a tattva, or a philosophical truth.

Indeed, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures explain Krishna-tattva. In the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9), Krishna says, janma karma ca me divyam — “My birth and activities are all divine.”

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam establishes Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead — ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28).

So yes, Krishna as tattva is an important understanding. But He should not remain only in the pages of scripture. He must come out and become real in our lives.

5. Krishna as a Person

As our understanding deepens, Krishna should begin to manifest as a person in our lives.
He must not remain just a concept we use to explain things or a tattva we can preach about. He must become active and personal.
While dealing with devotees, we should understand the presence of Paramātmā in their hearts. We should relate to the personality of devotees — and ultimately, the personality of Krishna.

Just as we deal with any person, our consciousness should expand and mature to the point where we feel Krishna’s presence and call out to Him with emotion.

We should chant feelingly. We should understand Rādhā and Krishna to be real persons in the spiritual world. And we should attempt to reciprocate in some way to serve Them.

Devotional service is deeply personal. If we forget Krishna’s identity as a person, and if we forget that devotees are also persons, then while following a personal philosophy, we may become impersonal in practice.

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was an impersonalist in his philosophy, yet highly personal in his dealings. When Mahāprabhu fainted outside the Jagannātha temple in ecstasy, Bhaṭṭācārya personally took care of Him with great love and care.

We, as followers of a personal tradition must strive to be personal in our dealings as well.

6. Krishna as Master, Friend, or Beloved

Finally, at the most exalted stage, we begin to identify Krishna as our master, friend, or beloved. This stage appears when devotional service blossoms to the highest levels of bhāva and prema.

Till then, we continue to serve Krishna in the best possible way. But when this stage dawns, a devotee feels completely consumed by Krishna. Śrīla Prabhupāda once mentioned that he fought for the Juhu land for his friend Krishna. This is an example of sakhya, one of the nine processes of devotional service.

At this level, Krishna becomes indispensable. Just as a fish cannot live without water, a devotee cannot live without Krishna.
In this stage, Krishna consciousness flourishes completely.

So Krishna, from being mere letters, to a concept, to a controller, to a tattva, to a person – finally becomes the very be-all and end-all of our existence. Krishna consciousness is a journey, and similarly, the word ‘Krishna’ also must undergo a journey in our life from just letters to our very life and soul.

Our lives begin to revolve around Him. Our existence has no meaning without Him. This is the perfection of our human life.